Dice agitating amusement device



Feb. 11, 1958 w. E. WORTH 2,823,035

mes AGITATING AMUSEMENT DEVICE! Filed May. 10, 1956 ,la y H 3 g Wi/l/am E. warm INVENTOR. u BY Wm. I I I W MW,

United Stat Pa n 2,823,036 I DICE'AGITATINGI DEVICE William Er'worth; Kodiak, Territory of Alaska Application May r0, isa' sifiii Nq.- s4,ooi

3 Claims. :(Cl. 273 145 This inventionfgenerally relates to'an amusement device and more particularly a device'for providing entertainm'ent for all ageswhich includes a receptacle for shaking dice together with means-for positioning the dice for easy viewing thereof.

An object of. the present inventionris to provide an amusement device in the form of an enclosed receptacle having a plurality of dice therein vwith certain indicia on each faceof each dice wherein novel means is provided for ori'entating the device in alignment for easy viewing after theidice have been thoroughly agitated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an amusement device wherein the plurality of dice may be provided with indicia whereina novel 'game may beemployed in conjunction with the amusement device.

Other objects of thepresent invention willreside in its simplicity of construction, entertaining and its relative inexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the amusement device of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 2-2 of Figure 1 illustrating the construction of the device;

Figure 3 is a plan sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating further structural details of the amusement device;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the amusement device with the dice disposed in their reading position with the closure member pivoted to an open position;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 5-5 of Figure 4 illustrating further structural details of the amusement device; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the dice employed with the present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the amusement device of the present invention including a receptacle generally designated by the numeral 12 which includes a top wall 14, a front wall 16, a rear wall 18, side walls 20 and inwardly extending ledges 22 on the rear wall 18 and the side walls 20. The juncture between the top wall 14 and the front wall 16, rear wall 18 and side walls 20 is rounded for providing a smooth contour and the entire receptacle 12 may be constructed of plastic material or similar type of material which may be transparent or opaque,

The front wall 16 is provided with an enlarged opening 24 extending substantially throughout the bottom area of the front wall 16 and the side walls 20 are provided with tabs or lugs 26 extending outwardly therefrom in r 2,823,036 L time? Feb; 1.1,. 1 5% The closure member 28 s inte ally form'ed with a platform or shelf 3 2 'w'h1ch is"in ipendicular relation to the 1 closure 'memb eFZS wHr'ein' the "platform of shelf 32 fofr'ns aibottolm for'tlie'receptacle 12}when*the closure member 28 is in closedpositioii slibstantially as 'isillustrated in Figure 2. The outer freeedgofftheclosure member 28 is pro 'd 'e "th' a pair of outwardly extendingtabs 34 forming 'dles fo'r manipulatingtheclosure member 28 and l iiigtlie inward movement thereof Also, an ir iwardl y exte din'g men'iber 36is formed'on the free edge of the closurej28",and a paii'jof gener'ally L'- shaped} side" m embers qf iis provided on the closure mem ber 28 and shelf '32with one'end of the'side members 38 connected to the" inwardly" extending -edge-36 andthe other end of thefedge terminating in spaced relation to the free edg e'of the-shelf32'. Inter c'onnecting; the shelf 32" and the closure member 28 is] a 'cufvedramp- 44 for guiding the plurality of dice 42'downwardly into contact with the inwardlyextendingedge36 for' aligning the dice 42" for reading or viewing -the sarrie It will be noted that theshelf 32is longer than the closure member 2'8 and" is long'er than the height of'the' opening 24 wherein theouter'fr'ee edge thereof will form a stop or limitmeans"-for*lirniting-' thedownward piv' otal'movement of the closure member 28 towards its open position substantially as illustrated in Figure 5 thereby assuring that the-closufe member-28" will be disp'os'edin substantiallyperpendicular relation? Also, the side members 38 are each provided with a concave upper edge 46 having substantially the same curvature as the ramp 44 so that the dice 42 may be more easily observed by the operator of the device.

Each of the side walls 20 is provided with a detent 48 adjacent the lower edge thereof for reception in recesses 50 in the side members 38 adjacent the inner end thereof for retaining the closure member 28 in its vertical closed position in relation to the opening 24 whereby the receptacle 12 may be utilized as an agitator for shaking the dice 42. After the dice 42 have been well shaken, the receptacle 12 may be placed on a supporting horizontal surface or held in the hand with the top 14 being disposed upwardly. The force of gravity will assure that all of the dice 42 come to rest upon the shelf 32 which forms a closure for the lower end of the receptacle 12. The tabs 34 may then be grasped and the closure member 28 pulled downwardly which will cause the shelf 32 to swing upwardly about the axis of the hinge pin 30 thereby causing all the dice 42 to slide downwardly along the curved ramp 44 and come into engagement with the inwardly extending edge 36 of the closure member 28 wherein the dice 42 will be disposed in alignment for reading the indicia on the particular dice for playing a game.

Adjacent the top wall 14, a pair of peripheral ribs 52,

is provided on the inner surface of the receptacle 12 for reinforcing the receptacle 12 and also forming projections for engagement with the dice 42 thereby assuring that the dice 42 will be thoroughly agitated during shaking of the receptacle 12 thereby eliminating the possibility of a skilled player predicting the manner in which the dice will fall.

The dice 42 are provided with picture-type indicia rather than with numbers with each side of the cube having a different picture and the diflferent cubes may be of different colors. As example, the cube or dice 42 may have an engagement ring 54 on one side thereof, a wedding ring 56 on another side thereof and a bell designating wedding bells 58 on yet another side thereof and the five cubes 42 present 30 surfaces upon which suitable indicia may be disposed whereby a persons fortunemay 3 v be read or future events anticipated wherein a highly amusing type of game may be played entirely for entertainment purposes.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occunto those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An amusement device comprising a receptacle having an open bottom area, a top, a front wall, a rear wall and side walls with the front wall having an enlarged opening in the bottom portion thereof, a pivotal closure member for said opening with the closure member being hingedly attached to the side walls adjacent the bottom edge thereof, detent means releasably retaining said closure member in closed position, and a plurality of cubes disposed in said receptacle with each cube having indicia on each side thereof, said closure member being'provided with a laterally extending platform overlying the open bottom of the receptacle when the closure member is in closed position, and a curved ramp between the platform and the closure member for directing the cubes downwardly onto the upper surface of said closure member when it swung to a horizontal position thereby raising the platform and the cubes whereby the cubes will 'slide down and forwardly on the ramp, and an inwardlyextending free'edge on the upper end of the closure member for stopping the cubes in alignment thereby permitting comparison of the indicia on the upper surface of each cube after the cubes come to rest, the shifting weight of the cubes being sutficient to maintain the closure member in closed or open position until manually manipulated, said platform being substantially equivalent in size to the bottom area of the receptacle and having a length greater than the height of said opening for limiting the downward pivotal movement of the closure member by engaging the top edge of the opening.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said closure member is provided with laterally projecting tabs forming handle means for manipulating said closure member, said tabs projecting outwardly from the side edges of the closure member for engagement with the side edges of the opening for limiting the closing movement of the closure member.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the side edges of said ramp and portions of the closure member and platform have vertical side walls With the walls being connected to the inwardly extending free edge of the closure member for guiding the. movement of said cubes, said detent means being disposed on the. inner surface of the side walls of the receptacle and on the outer surface of the side Walls on the platform for holding the closure member in closed position, the side walls on the ramp, closure member and platform being constant in height with a curved upper edge generally paralleling the upper surface of the closure member, ramp and platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hickey Nov. 9, 1943 

